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Supreme Court of India 2024-12-20 partly_allowed

SUGIRTHA vs GOWTHAM

Bench: 2 — Vikram Nath, Prasanna B. Varale

In Brief

This appeal challenges a High Court order directing a mother to take her 2-year-old daughter to the father's residence in Karur (150 km away) for visitation every Sunday. The parents married in 2021, separated in August 2022 (two months after the child's birth), and the mother filed for divorce citing domestic violence. The Court held that while fathers have an inherent right to visit their children, the paramount consideration is the child's welfare. A 300 km round trip weekly would harm a tender-aged child. The Court partly allowed the appeal, modifying the venue from Karur to Madurai (the child's residence), with visitation in a public park or temple for 4 hours on Sundays in the mother's presence.

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Family Law Matrimonial Disputes Child Custody and Visitation Domestic Violence Best Interests of the Child

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